All of existence has meaning because existence is recognized by human beings. How incredibly significant human life is, therefore!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Existence Has Meaning Because Humans Recognize It!
Divine economy theory is broad enough to permit us to consider all of these things. To begin we can never lose sight of the ever-present and omnipotent equilibrium force. Impatience and/or arrogance must be purged from our minds. In other words, all of the cherished human identities and principles and aspirations have an inherent balance. They are in harmony. There is symmetry among them and also reciprocity. It is equilibrium that allows their full expression and power and it is equilibrium that is the natural force that is both hidden and manifest.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
The Best Means To Learn Is Through Liberty And Justice.
Certainly unity could just appear without the painstaking process if it were pre-ordained to be so but there would be no semblance of human reality in that shallow figment of imagination. Not much different are the vain imaginings of those who are ego-driven, whose intervention disregards the way the human reality expresses itself voluntarily in the world. Sure, there may be ‘unity’ under totalitarianism but it is oppressive and soulless.
It is not a mere coincidence that the earth’s resources are differential or that humans are diverse. It is no mere coincidence that humans have an affinity for social cooperation. Unity is a reality but it only has meaning because it is understood and it is only understood because it is learned. Yet the best means to learn what it is that we are supposed to learn is through the liberty and justice emanations originating from the divine equilibrium force.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Probing Deeply Into Liberty And Justice Opens A Broad Vista.
We find ourselves at an elevated theoretical position where not only are ethics and economics inseparable but also law and justice are tightly woven into the economic fabric of life. Just like when examining the natural world, the deeper we go into the inner workings the more we need to understand the big picture. Probing deeply into liberty and justice opens a broad vista of human civilization over its entire time horizon. Cause and effect is still the theoretical basis of our understanding but our ability to apply science at a very high level – pushing the envelop – is being tested by this theoretical position.
A perfect example is the earth itself and all of its differentiated resources and climates. Add to this mix the rich and nearly infinite diversity of human personalities. And yet the direction that all this is going is towards unity! Sure, it is a relatively slow process, but then again, look how fast it is occurring relative to geological change.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Liberty And Justice Balanced By The Forces Of Economic Equilibrium.
Diagram III W shows the progression of thought from the initial concept of the divine economy as a synonym for economic equilibrium to its coming in contact with the human civilization elements of liberty and justice. It becomes clear that liberty and justice are maintained in relative balance by the forces of economic equilibrium, and are contemporarily forced to work against the ego-driven forces. The perfect balance of liberty and justice in the divine economy is the result of the removal of ego-driven intervention, replaced providentially with the divine laws and order provided by the strong and inviolable Covenant given to us in this Day.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Justice Is The Key Ingredient.
It turns out that justice is the key ingredient opening a pathway of reciprocity between the divine economy and the divine civilization and vice versa.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Replacing Laws And Its Structure: A Rational Insight.
Of course replacing the laws and its structures with nothing or just replacing the laws and its structures with a different set of ego-driven laws and structures makes no sense. Only if the Covenant of God provides us with a divine alternative can we be better off than we are now. It is this rational insight that is the foundation of a true human society.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
We Don't Have Law That Is Compatible With Liberty And Justice.
Justice implies protective respect for both the human reality and for the healthy freedom of expression of the human reality. To get a better grasp of all of these things – honoring the human reality and its expression – we need to acknowledge the inseparability of liberty and justice. Balancing liberty and justice is the essential key.
And so, necessarily, there is a very meaningful relationship between law and the inseparability of liberty and justice. Developed law, over time, resulting from search and discovery (only if it has been uninfluenced by the ego-driven) is compatible with both liberty and justice. Probably, you or I do not believe that is what we have.
Monday, August 22, 2011
The Market Is The Provider of Order And Social Cooperation.
Already clearly identified in the divine economy model is the starting point for laws – property rights. The essence of property rights is this identity: property rights are human rights and human rights are property rights. In other words, the human reality is the most precious of all considerations.
The principal provider of order and of social cooperation – operating and expressed through the language of exchange activities – that fills the lives of everyone everywhere, as part of the market process, is the ‘market’ itself.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Rotten Laws Bring About Rotten Order.
“The connection between economics and the law is implied, but it is rarely regarded by economists as a special object worthy of their research.” [63] Keeping in mind the concept of reciprocity, the immediate implication is that laws bring about order. The source of the laws determines the type of order. Rotten laws (order) bring about rotten order (law), whereas good laws bring about a good order, and whereas divine laws bring about divine order (Diagram III R).
[63] Bruno Leoni, Freedom And The Law, Expanded Third Edition, (Liberty Fund, 1991), 50.
[63] Bruno Leoni, Freedom And The Law, Expanded Third Edition, (Liberty Fund, 1991), 50.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Practical Justice Is Directly Related To The Covenant.
The primary source of ethics required for an ever-advancing civilization comes from the Manifestations of God and it is the impact of Their Teachings that leads to and spiritualizes social cooperation. Again we see the importance of the Covenant when we consider its ability or inability to withstand the assault of the ego-driven. If it is strong and inviolable we get a divine civilization, whereas if it is violated the best we can hope for is an ever-advancing civilization that is constantly being whittled away under the attack of the ego-driven.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Ideally The Light Of Justice Must Surround Entrepreneurship.
Alertness is another way of saying ‘seeking after truth.’ It certainly has an intellectual component but it also has a spiritual component which has been unnecessarily neglected by those scientists that are still shackled to some extent by orthodoxy. The seat of all value is the appearance of the virtues or attributes of God in all material things and as the essential component of all human action. It is the appearance of these virtues, and the attraction that they create, that brings about both justice and unity.
First of all, since we are investigating justice let’s go ahead and consider justice at the point of the ignition of the divine spark. Alertness of the entrepreneur is the exercising of the most basic human right, the independent investigation of truth. Equally as significant is the fact that it is because of this entrepreneurship (alertness) that transformation takes place, not only at the level of the individual but also within the economy and within the society. To clarify the importance of justice, it is justice that inextricably links the interests of the individual with those of society. It is, therefore, extremely important for the light of justice to reach and to surround the entire arena of entrepreneurship.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Knowledge + Means = Attainment Of Ends.
In the context of the means/ends conversation what we have is: knowledge + means = attainment of ends. This is the ever-present economic problem! The solution to the problem is inherently a part of the divine economy. How can I best describe the solution - the driving force that is hidden underneath the solution - to the problem? Entrepreneurship! Entrepreneurs are visionaries that cause the Justice/Unity axis to move to the right (Diagram III K).
Monday, August 15, 2011
Economic Orthodoxy Excludes Ethics From Economics.
Freeing ourselves up to investigate at the same time both ethics (ends) and economics (means) makes sense since they are intertwined in the real world. Unless unshackled from the restrictions mandated by orthodoxy – noticeably so prior to the emergence of divine economy theory – then many fruits will be left undiscovered.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
At The Threshold Of Transition From Interventionism!
Obviously it can be said that we are not there yet. Some of the progress made to date has been camouflaged by the disarray caused by those who have disrupted the force of equilibrium. Stepping back and looking at human history we can see the tendency toward an ever-advancing civilization. If allowed to operate unhampered the equilibrium force that works by all of the various means within human civilization will bring peace and order. Besides, there is no moral authority for interference with the equilibrium force that is wholly and organically inherent and that operates naturally as a divine force.
We are at a threshold in human history. That threshold is the transition from interventionism - which lacks moral authority - to trust in the equilibrium force that exists as a divine institution (for lack of a better term) as part of God’s creation of human beings ‘in His Image.’ We are at the threshold of understanding how to establish a divine civilization in its fullness. We are at a threshold that was not achievable in the past.
We are at a threshold in human history. That threshold is the transition from interventionism - which lacks moral authority - to trust in the equilibrium force that exists as a divine institution (for lack of a better term) as part of God’s creation of human beings ‘in His Image.’ We are at the threshold of understanding how to establish a divine civilization in its fullness. We are at a threshold that was not achievable in the past.
Liberty & Justice of Economic Equilibrium, pp. 26-27.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Alternative To The Status Quo.
Can we visualize an alternative to the status quo of Statist law? “It is often difficult to see the important role customary law plays in determining the social order, since so much of custom has been codified or co-opted by common law courts and claimed as state law.” [47] The remnants of customary law still do exist and need to be strengthened. “Privatization in law and order involves two separate processes: 1) Increases in the privately owned and allocated resources devoted to the protection of persons and property, including the establishment and clarification of property rights through rule-making and adjudication; and 2) decreases in publicly controlled resources devoted to the same purposes.” [48]
[47] Bruce L. Benson, The Enterprise
[48] Bruce L. Benson, The Enterprise
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Harmonizing Federalism And Subsidiarity.
We seem to forget that we are traversing time and that ethical progress is a part of that journey. At this point in time we know some things with certainty. The natural and ethical basis of the economy is property rights and one of its corollaries – sound money. Another natural progression, known, that can function properly in a human civilization is federalism and its reciprocal – subsidiarity.
Liberty & Justice of Economic Equilibrium, pp. 23-24.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Human Civilization Equilibrium Rests Upon Logical Structure Of Thought.
That is why understanding equilibrium as a divine force is so important. The resulting confidence will assure vigilant protection from the misdirected efforts of the ego-driven. The best and most effective way to apply this knowledge is to implement it at the correct scale, locally for instance, where the wisdom of certain individuals merits the confidence of others. Part of the trust in human civilization equilibrium is confidence that humans are truly one species with the same logical structure of thought. What we will find is that these smaller scale societies will basically discover and practice laws which are perfectly compatible within human civilization as a whole. Although this diversity is nothing but political anarchy it has none of the negative biases associated with that term.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
The State Undermined Codified Customary Law.
Part of the modernization of law was its formalization. Broadly speaking the legal code evolved into two basic forms: as codified customary law and as common law. Codified law spelled it all out and it was therefore accessible to anyone who was interested. With common law “judges both made law and applied it. But common law had the defect of a wide margin of uncertainty.” [42] Common law eventually became the privileged arena of judges and lawyers. Obviously, restricted access and specialized jargon and legalistic methods created an enhanced opportunity for intervention. “Customary law and its institutions facilitate voluntary interactions; government law and its institutions facilitate involuntary transfers.” [43]
[43] Bruce L. Benson, The Enterprise
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[42] Henry Hazlitt, The Foundations of Morality, (The Foundation For Economic Education, Inc., 1998), p. 65.
For more information go to my newly renovated website.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Classical Liberalism Is A Guide to What Is Natural.
Some of the cultural changes and some of the elements of civilization across the spectrum of history can be regarded as natural. It is the classical liberalism perspective that serves as a guide to find these elements. “Customary law reflects the norms of those who choose to function in the particular social order ‘governed’ by those laws. In a very real sense, then, such customary law is a unanimously adopted ‘social contract’ or ‘constitution.’ It establishes the rules that are the basis for spontaneous social order. This social contract evolves and adapts to changing social conditions.” [38] “Because the source of recognition of customary law is reciprocity, private property rights and the rights of individual are likely to constitute the most important primary rules of conduct in such legal systems.” [39]
[38] Bruce L. Benson, The Enterprise
[39] Bruce L. Benson, The Enterprise
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Equilibrium Tends To Harmonize Individual And Societal Interests.
Here is an additional point of contemplation. Equilibrium is not instantaneous, it is a tendency and if it is achieved it happens in the future. In other words, the Human Civilization Equilibrium diagram has another dimension that is implied. The time element is necessarily a part of the long-run nature of equilibrium. “We have seen that there tends to be a coincidence between the actions or rules of action that best promote the interests of the individual in the long run and the rules of action that best promote the interests of society as a whole in the long run. We have seen that this coincidence tends to be greater the longer the period we take into consideration.” [36]
[36] Henry Hazlitt, The Foundations of Morality, (The Foundation For Economic Education, Inc., 1998), p. 108.
[36] Henry Hazlitt, The Foundations of Morality, (The Foundation For Economic Education, Inc., 1998), p. 108.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Equilibrium Is The Force That Drives Society Towards Its Ultiimate End.
According to the Human Civilization Equilibrium diagram, the strongest of ‘ends’ is equilibrium. The next strongest ‘ends’ are harmony and reciprocity and symmetry even though they also have strong ‘means’ characteristics.
It is true that equilibrium is highly regarded as an ends but it is more accurate to regard it as the force that always drives society towards the ultimate end. The ultimate end for humans, since we are social beings in addition to our reality as spiritual beings, is social cooperation. “As social cooperation is the great means of achieving nearly all our individual ends, this means can be thought of as itself the moral goal to be achieved.” [34] With this in mind re-examine the Human Civilization Equilibrium diagram and notice how all of the means: Harmony/Reciprocity/Symmetry; plus Morality/Ethics, Economy/Liberty, Law/Justice, and Order/Peace, serve to bring about and fortify social cooperation as driven by the force of equilibrium.
Liberty & Justice of Economic Equilibrium, pp. 18-19.
[34] Henry Hazlitt, The Foundations of Morality, (The Foundation For Economic Education, Inc., 1998), pp. xi.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Interventionism Destroys Human Eco-Equilibrium Civilization!
It’s funny. It is popular knowledge that there are consequences resulting from disruptions of the ecological system even to the extent that the flapping of a butterfly wing is felt all around the world, and yet there is little thought given to the consequences of the major and continuous human disruptions to the equilibrium that is operative in human civilization!
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